James Martin apologises for crew "incident": "I overreacted"
The chef explains that he had been diagnosed with cancer, he had lost a loved one and his house had been burgled by masked men in the months leading up to the incident.
James Martin has issued a public statement following complaints made about his on-set behaviour.
Earlier this week, ITV confirmed that discussions had taken place between the broadcaster and Martin's production company and reiterated that "people and their welfare are our highest priority".
The complaints about the TV chef and presenter were made by members of Martin's crew during production on his food travel series, James Martin's Spanish Adventure. It was reported that a senior figure at ITV had spoken to Martin, who was directed to change his behaviour after a complaint about his conduct was launched in May.
It was also reported that it was the second time an issue had been raised in recent years following a previous incident in 2018 when major damage was caused to Martin's house during filming.
In audio obtained by The Sun, Martin can be heard admonishing crew on a Zoom call following the damage, which led to a drain being blocked in his home during the filming of James Martin’s Saturday Morning.
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In a new Instagram post, Martin apologised for his reaction to the 2018 incident, and explained that in the months leading up to it, he had been diagnosed with cancer, he had lost a loved one and his house had been burgled by masked men.
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He wrote: "Firstly, I would like to apologise publicly and sincerely to the crew involved in this incident, as I did at the time.
"I have always strived to keep my private life private. However since details of a conversation, which was secretly recorded in January 2018, are now five years later being made public by a former member of our production team, I have decided to make a statement."
He continued: "The end of 2017 was one of the most fraught and difficult periods of my life. I was dealing with the death of my last living grandparent, my grandfather, and on account of work commitments I could not attend his funeral.
"Later that month I was burgled at night by a team of masked men, who entered my house while my partner Louise was at home alone and I was away working. I was devastated that she had to go through that alone.
"On top of this I was then diagnosed with cancer on my face and I had to have surgery, which I couldn't do until two days before Christmas when we had finished filming. Since then it has returned on several occasions and I have to have regular treatments."
He concluded his statement, writing: "After all this stress I was in a very emotional state, and when after filming in January 2018 I discovered my home had been flooded while filming, I was extremely upset.
"I can only say I'm human and following a build-up of pressure, I admit I overreacted regarding the damage to my home."
An official statement provided to RadioTimes.com earlier this week by the chef's production company Blue Marlin confirmed that both Martin and Blue Marlin are in the process of implementing a number of recommendations from ITV.
It stated: "An unfortunate incident occurred after filming James Martin's Saturday Morning in 2018 where James's home was badly damaged. Blue Marlin Television accepted responsibility.
"James was shocked by what had happened and on reflection acknowledges he responded emotionally, which he wholly regrets. James apologises for any offence or upset caused, as he did at the time to the crew involved."
Read more: ITV will "closely monitor" James Martin productions after complaints
The statement continued: "Following this and some issues filming James Martin's Spanish Adventures, James and Blue Marlin Television agree that lessons have been learned which have been discussed with members of the team and with ITV.
"Blue Marlin Television and James Martin have taken on board ITV's recommendations and their sharing of best practice, and are in the process of fully implementing. Since the 2018 incident, Blue Marlin Television has continued to film over 500 shows at James's home.
"Blue Marlin Television remains committed to ensuring the welfare of all those with whom they work is of the utmost priority."
In a separate statement earlier this week, ITV declared: "The production companies who make shows for us have primary responsibility for the duty of care of everyone they work with, both on and off-screen.
"We make clear our expectations in this regard as part of our pre-greenlight duty of care processes. This includes having appropriate independent controls in place to enable everyone who works on their shows to confidently and confidentially raise concerns."
It continued: “Following a complaint we received in May from members of the Blue Marlin production team about the filming of James Martin's Spanish Adventure, we contacted Blue Marlin to discuss these concerns and to understand how the issues raised were being addressed and what actions were being taken.
"As a result, we made a number of recommendations for Blue Marlin to implement as soon as possible, sharing best practice of some of our own relevant procedures around staff welfare and reiterating our Supplier Code of Conduct."
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